* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: With ''The Slow Regard of Silent Things'' we have Auri: is she aware of the true nature of the world on a level beyond normal people, or is her behavior simply crazy and obsessive-compulsive?* BaseBreakingCharacter: Denna comes off as TheScrappy to many, who often find her annoying and unsympathetic for what they perceive as knowingly toying with Kvothe to spend her time when she is not luring rich guys to make a living. Conversely, many people like her for being a rare three-dimensional LoveInterest who provides both conflict and respite (alternatively) to the story, thanks to how much she matters to Kvothe.* BrokenBase:** The announcement that Pat would be releasing a novella centered on minor character Auri, ''The Slow Regard of Silent Things'', had fans either excited to see a new perspective of the Kingkiller world, especially that of an enigmatic character, or disappointed that he wasn't devoting his attention to the much-anticipated third book. Upon release there was further split as some found the narrative uninteresting and irrelevant and criticized Rothfuss for dissapointing them and wasting their time, while others praised the unconventional story and its exploration of Auri's character.** Kvothe's time spent in the fae realm in ''The Wise Man's Fear'' has also divided the fandom. Many found it a fascinating and increasingly dark high point of the novel, as Kvothe interacts with two demigods of [[AmbiguouslyEvil questionable alignment]] and [[ShroudedInMyth mystery]], while exploring a unique side of the world and separating fact from fiction regarding some of the series' more fantastical history. Others believe it dragged on for too long, and found our hero's interaction with Felurian [[spoiler:(along with his defeat of her and subsequent escape)]] to be testing their suspension of disbelief. ** Similarly, the time spent in Ademre. It's either a very interesting subplot that enriches the story by showing a different culture of ProudWarriorRaceGuys, with an interesting philosophy in the Lethani. Or they are a [[MarySuetopia country]] of [[CantArgueWithElves pretentious]], [[IRejectYourReality anti-intellectual]], [[WomenAreWiser sexist]], [[ArrogantKungfuGuy arrogant kung-fu guys]] who belittle everyone else for their perceived shortcomings while [[{{Hypocrite}} ignoring their own backward and strange taboos]], not to mention that the entire time there doesn't advance the MythArc barring a short conversation at the end.* CrazyAwesome: Elodin, possibly even in-universe.* EarWorm: "Jackass, Jackass" is deliberately written to be one.* EnsembleDarkhorse: Auri, Devi, and Elodin.* HilariousInHindsight: Kote was a caravan guard [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim until he took an arrow to the knee.]]* HoYay: Bast is really, really devoted to Kvothe--devoted to the point of staying in a boring human town for his sake, checking on him when he's asleep, and [[spoiler: [[BreadEggsMilkSquick threatening to torture Chronicler if he doesn't help Kvothe get back to being his old self]]]]. Some of their interaction can also come off as LikeAnOldMarriedCouple, at least from Bast's side:-->'''Bast:''' [angrily waving a note Kvothe left him] What am I, some dockside whore?* LoveItOrHateIt: ''The Slow Regard of Silent Things''. Actually commented by Rothfuss.* MarySue: While not without relevant flaws, Kvothe is idealized enough to qualify for this trope (impossibly brilliant, charming, tough...) Even as a BrokenAce in his early 20s, he's still a brooding badass with "the eyes of an angry god" and is infamous, even in his obscurity. It's known that the character of Kvothe is supposed to be a deconstruction of the trope, but how succesful has been Rothfuss deconstructing it is up to debate.* MarySueTopia** The Edema Ruh are the greatest performers in the world. They treat each other like family, with no petty rivalries or distrust between groups. They're always kind and generous to fellow travelers. And they ''never'' commit crimes. The rose-colored view of the Edema Ruh might be due to Kvothe's personal biases as a fiercely proud Ruh himself.** The Adem, an entire society of warrior-philosophers. They're ruled by their elite mercenary schools, whose martial arts secrets are several orders of magnitude greater than any other society's. Even their lowliest, stupidest members look like superheroes compared to other people. Their leaders are selected purely on merit. They have absolutely no sexual inhibitions, yet also have absolutely no venereal disease. Their language is far more subtle and elegant than any other. They all have iron-clad composure. Their food is delicious. Their medicinal skill rivals the greatest academic institutions. They are technologically advanced. They live in great wealth and comfort, but without needless frills or vanity. They seem to lack crime, corruption and poverty. They do have a number of oddities, but they are all well defended: While their culture believes that women are basically better than men, they are a meritocracy, so their culture is basically ''evidence'' of this conclusion. They disapprove of music played in public, but only because they cherish it so much.* {{Moe}}: Auri, to [[Franchise/HarryPotter Luna Lovegood]] levels.* PlotTumor: The interminable interlude of faerie sex. Someone counted the pages. ''60''.* RomanticPlotTumor: Some readers think Kvothe's very slowly developing romance with Denna takes up too much time. In the second book, Kvothe acknowledges that he has to dedicate a lot of time to their story on the saying it will be important in the future.** On the other hand, his kind of goofy behavior to woo her becomes FridgeBrilliance if you remember that Kvothe is a fifteen-year-old boy who's never had a crush before.* StrawmanHasAPoint: For all that Ambrose is exceedingly prejudiced against the Edema Ruh and abusing his influence to attack him, by the end of the first book Kvothe has in fact 1. Robbed him, and 2. Committed an act of extreme malfeasance.* TheWoobie: Auri, due to her homelessness and implied DarkAndTroubledPast. Kvothe after his parents' death manages to surpass Auri; the Tarbean chapters are downright painful to read. In ''The Wise Man's Fear," the two girls enslaved by the [[spoiler: fake Edema Ruh]].* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: For some, the [[spoiler:Fake Edema Ruh]] arc late in the second book had shades of this. Kvothe runs into another troupe of Edema Ruh, the first he's encountered since his childhood. He spends the evening in their company, but a feeling of gradual unease begins to creep up on him as the night goes on, cemented by the appearance of two teenage girls the troupe had abducted and made into sex slaves. Kvothe is reasonably disturbed and appalled by this, and retires in order to plot what to do about it. [[spoiler:Faced with proof that corruption and atrocity are present in even the apparently flawless Edema Ruh, you'd think this would be a huge blow to Kvothe's romanticized bias toward his people; but of course, it turns out they were bandits merely impersonating the Ruh, which Kvothe had quickly twigged right from the start due to the various minor holes in their Ruh knowledge.]] While still given a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge very satisfying conclusion]], TheReveal removed some of the emotional depth the text was [[RedHerring seemingly]] building up to and reinforced the [[MarySueTopia above stereotype]].* WriterOnBoard: Occurs twice in ''The Wise Man's Fear''.** First when Kvothe glosses over a [[OffScreenMomentOfAwesome high-stakes, high-action]] [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot part of the plot]] and then goes into an angry rant about how this is ''his'' story and Chronicler isn't entitled to hear it any other way than the way ''he'' wants to tell it. It's almost impossible to not see that as Patrick Rothfuss' own pre-emptive attack on any readers who would be disappointed by this decision, and indeed, fans of the series have been known to use Kvothe's claim of "granting you a gift, not giving you your due" in response to criticism towards the series.** Secondly with the subplot with the false Edema Ruh who kidnapped and raped two young girls. Kvothe brutally kills all of the culprits, subjects one to a CruelMercy and, while initially feeling shocked by his own savagery, soon decides that he's happy he did it because they deserved all of it and more. When he brings the girls back to their village, one of the villagers try to [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming victim-blame]] them, and Kvothe ''breaks his arm'' as punishment before making him apologise, and is later told by the village's resident CoolOldLady that he was quite justified in doing so. Yes, Rothfuss, we get it, [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rape is bad]] - but perhaps you could tone it down just a little?